2012011 South T1 South Texas GCSAexas GCSAAnnual MeetingAnnual Meeting

Tuesday, November 8, 2011Raven Nest Golf Club, 457 IH 45 South, Huntsville, TX 77340

Host Superintendent: David GrayRegistration: 8:30 a.m. Meeting: 9:45 a.m. Lunch: 10:45

Golf:11:30 Cost: $55Please RSVP by Nov. 7 by calling Marian Takushi

at 281-494-0094, by e-mail at stgcsa@windstream.net or through the direct link on the“Upcoming Events” page of www.stgcsa.org.

Directions to Raven Nest Golf Club: From Houston:

• While traveling north on I-45, take exit #115. Proceed to the stop sign (Ave. S), take a left and cross over I-45. • Take a right after the over-pass and follow the loop to the I-45 southbound feeder.

• Continue down the feeder, and Raven Nest entrance will be on the right.

Coming Up Next!2011 STGCSA Annual Meeting

December 2 Cole’s Country — Cypress

This month’s host . . .Raven Nest Golf Club

Seamlessly blended into the rolling wooded landscape,Raven Nest offers players of every skill level a beautiful matchbetween challenge and enjoyment.

The club features the home course of the Sam HoustonState PGA Golf Management program, the Sam HoustonState University Bearkats, Huntsville Hornets, and NewWaverly High.

The course itself will challenge golfers of allability levels. The tee options range from theforward green tees measuring 5,416 yards witha course rating/slope of 69.8/121 to themost challenging blacktees, which measure6,943 yards and have acourse rating/slope of72.6/130.

Raven Nest Golf Club is proud to host numerous PGAPlaying Ability Tests as well as college and high school eventsthroughout the season.

The two pictures to the left are just a sampling of RavenNest’s character. You can find a hole-by-hole description

of the course by visiting:http://www.ravennestgolf.com/documents/courselayout.pdf

How is it already November? Seems like just yesterday andit was October.

Just kidding, of course, but it does seem to me that everyyear (and even month) goes by faster than the last. This yearhas certainly lived up to those expectations.

Our last regular meeting of 2011 (otherwise know as ourAnnual Meeting) is coming up very soon, on Nov. 8, to beexact, at Raven Nest Golf Club. You’ll find all kinds ofreminders throughout this issue of Tee to Green, but I hopeyou’ve had the meeting on your calendar for a while and thatyou’ll be on hand. You need to be.

Our Annual Meeting is and should be our biggest event ofthe year. It’s when you, as an STGCSA member, have theopportunity to hear your leaders discuss the Chapter’s activitiesfor the past year and plans for the future, and for you to havean impact on that future- the annual meeting is when we con-duct our election and choose our leaders for the next 12months and beyond.

If you look back at the September issue of Tee to Green,you'll find a complete list of the candidates for office (with theexception of any candidates that may be nominated from thefloor of the meeting and write-in candidates) to consider.

You’ll also find a proposed change to our by-laws next to thelist, and I ask that you take a look at it, too. It’s a simple pro-cedural change but it’s important; approving it will allow ourmeeting planners to position our annual meeting in Septem-ber, October or November, rather than being limited just toNovember. That flexibility will provide a wider range of host

sites and perhaps a bit of conven-ience to our schedule.

The golf portion of this year’sAnnual Meeting will be pick-your-partner, so if you haven'talready, grab a teammate andmake plans to carpool toHuntsville. I think it will be agreat event! I always love visitingnew golf courses for the first time,and I’m sure Raven Nest is notgoing to disappoint. David Grayand his staff have been workinghard to get ready for us so come on up and enjoy it.

Every year brings with it changes, and 2012 will be noexception. We have already opened up new membership andrenewal forms on our website to make the process easier foreveryone. We are going to start compiling photos of all themembers for several reasons, not the least of which is an onlinedirectory with photos that we would like to launch in 2012.This should help everyone put names with faces since we can’tall make it to every meeting. So please send Marian a photoof yourself via email if you have one you’d like to use.

Another change in 2012 will be with the newsletter…again. While it will be still a digital version with one printedversion in September, there will be some differences to lookforward to, starting with who will be doing it. Marian Takushi

3

Wade Warms, CGCS

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

continued on page 7

ExecutiveDirector

Marian TakushiP.O. Box 571923

Houston, Texas 77257-1923Phone: 281-494-0094FAX: 281-494-0094

e-mail: stgcsa@windstream.net

Director of CommunicationsSteve Hunter

Phone: 281-395-4927e-mail: srhunter@mindspring.com

Lone Star RepresentativesDoug Browne, Terry Gill, John Walker

PresidentWade Warms, CGCS

Vice-President Secretary/TreasurerMark Haven Sean Wilson, CGCS

Immediate Past PresidentWilly Plowman

Board of Directors

Mark Baughman Brandon ColeBrandon Crumpler Ben Fultz

Jeff McCrory Blayne SparksJohn Walker

2011South Texas Golf Course Superintendents Association

Officers, Board of Directors and Staff

4

BWI IS ON YOUR TURF

Valuable resourcesWhen you have the chance, please take a minute to visit

the Green Section's portal at http://gsportal.usga.org to findinformation regarding upcoming live webcasts and links to

recordings of dozens of previously-delivered webcasts, andannouncements of upcoming USGA Green Section activities,

education conferences, and meetings.

Would you like to see the digital Record issues you missed? Or, maybe you heard about an article or video in a previousupdate. All of the issues are stored in one convenient loca-

tion— the Green Section Record Archive athttps://gsportal.usga.org/gsr/default.aspx.

Take a look, even if you don’t know what you’ve missed.

Bayer Superintendent GrantProgram:

Act very quickly!Bayer Environmental Science has teamed up with The

Environmental Institute for Golf to send five golf coursesuperintendents to the GCSAA Education Conference andGolf Industry Show.

The purpose of this grant is to assist golf course superin-tendents with their professional development through par-ticipation in the annual event that features the most com-prehensive education program available in the industry.

Superintendents who have not attended the GCSAAEducation Conference and Golf Industry Show in the priortwo years (San Diego ’10 or Orlando ’11) are eligible toapply.

Bayer Environmental Science will award grants to fivesuperintendents, who will be selected through a randomdrawing. Each grant will cover expenses for the recipients’airfare, hotel accommodations for five nights, conferencefull-pack registration, two education seminars and $200 inspending money

Please note that the value of the package is based on theactual cost, which will be reported as other income onForm 1099 for 2012. No taxes will be withheld for federalor state purposes. Please consult your tax adviser with ques-tions.

To apply, simply complete the online application (avail-able on www2/gcsaa/org within the “Education” pages) orthe paper application and fax or mail it in. The deadline forentry is Oct. 31, 2011. The Environmental Institute forGolf will notify winners by Nov. 4, 2011.

Please note that if you have already pre-registered at thetime of the drawing, GCSAA will refund any charges thatwould be covered by this program— only one applicationper person.

Pest Management seminar set for January

The Texas Agri-Life Extension Service-Harris County Officewill conduct a “Pest Management for Golf and Sport Turf Sys-tems” seminar on Jan. 5, 2011, at its office in west Houston(3033 Bear Creek Dr., Houston, TX 77084).

Co-sponsored by the South Texas Golf Course Superinten-dents Association, the meeting will begin with registration,coffee and donuts at 7:30 a.m. and will run through approxi-mately 3:15 p.m.

Payment for the seminar may be made by credit card bycalling 281-494-0094 or by visiting the “Pest Management forGolf and Sport Turf Systems” link on the “Events/Results”page at www.stgcsa.org.

For additional information, please contact Dr. AnthonyCamerino (281-855-5600, awcamerino@ag.tamu.edu).

MEMBERMOVES

Welcome to Courtney White, a technician at Royal OaksCountry Club, who joined the STGCSA last month.

5

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Konzem named GCSAAChief Operating Officer

Richard Konzem, who has more than 30 years of managerialexperience, primarily in intercollegiate athletics, has beennamed chief operating officer for the Golf Course Superinten-dents Association of America (GCSAA).

Konzem officially began his duties on Oct. 17.Konzem comes to

GCSAA from Rock-hurst University,located in KansasCity, Mo., where hehas served as direc-tor of athletics since November 2007.

During his tenure at Rockhurst, Konzem served on theNCAA Division II Men’s Golf Regional Advisory Committeeand had student-athletes from eight of 11 teams compete inNCAA postseason competition.

“I am pleased and excited to have Richard join the GCSAAteam,” GCSAA Chief Executive Officer Rhett Evans said. “Hehas an impressive track record of success supporting and facili-tating a performance-driven culture among a group of diverseand talented individuals. That will serve the association well ashe oversees the day-to-day operations of association programswith a focus on serving the GCSAA membership.”

Konzem will be responsible for developing, implementingand executing key member programs that support the achieve-ment of the association’s mission, vision and operational goals.He will serve on the association's executive team and overseethe professional development; membership; strategic commu-nications; corporate marketing, sales and business develop-ment; environmental programs; and events and meeting plan-ning departments.

He will also represent GCSAA in a variety of industry andallied association events, programs and activities.

“I am honored to join the GCSAA staff and look forward toworking with it, the board of directors and members,”Konzem said. “As an avid golfer, I have the utmost respect forthe professionals who manage the game's playing field.”

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Complete details can be found atwww.golfindustryshow.com/

6

The Lone Star Golf Course Superintendents Associationwill be rolling out its latest fundraising campaign for researchat the beginning of the year.

All of our state’s local associations will be collecting roundsof golf to be raffled off in the first quarter of 2012. This proj-ect is very similar to the “Rounds for Research” campaign thatwas held last year.

Although the project produced over $6,000 for research lastyear, the Lone Star GCSA Board of Directors did not feel itwas as successful as it should have been. We found that theweak link in that program was getting enough people to actu-ally bid on the rounds.

The online bidding process was very cumbersome and welost many interested bidders in the registration phase of theproject. Accordingly, changes have been made, starting withthe elimination of the online portion of the effort

Here is how we have designed the 2012 “Raffle forResearch” project. In short, each Chapter will be assigned atarget number of rounds of golf to secure, a target number ofraffle tickets to be sold that will result in a goal for the funds it

is responsible for raising. All sales will be conducted in personby volunteer members (and affiliate members) of the respectivechapters.

We have tried to keep the odds of winning at around a onein 10 chance per ticket purchased.

We hope that there will be enough volunteers in each chap-ter that step up to sell five tickets per volunteer. The chaptersthat are designated to 200 tickets, for example, would onlyneed 40 members selling five tickets each to reach their Chap-ter goal. That sounds extremely possible and it puts the con-trol of success of the project back into our members’ hands.

We hope to have the rounds of golf procured by the end ofNovember and we hope to have the raffle tickets back fromthe printer by the end of December.

We have allocated the months of January and February forselling the tickets, and in March, each chapter will hold adrawing to pick the winners.

Each of the chapters will hold their own drawing to insurethe rounds of golf donated in that particular area will be wonby someone from within the Chapter’s geographic territory.

Once all of the drawings have been held, all of the 750 tick-ets that were sold throughout the state will then be collectedand another drawing will be held (by the LSGCSA) for achance to win one of five (and possibly more) stay-and-playpackages throughout the state.

Lone Star GCSA setsRaffle for Research

Chapter Golf Rounds Ticket Goal Sales GoalNTGCSA 20 rounds 200 tickets@$20 ea. $4,000CTGCSA 20 rounds 200 tickets@$20 ea. $4,000GCGCSA 5 rounds 50 tickets@$20 ea. $1,000STGCSA 20 rounds 200 tickets@$20 ea. $4,000WTGCSA 10 rounds 100 tickets$20 ea. $2,000

continued on page 9

7

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Thanks!!!The STGCSA and its mem-bership wishes to extend its

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tendent, for hosting theChapter’s October Meeting. The hospitality and profes-

sionalism displayed by the club’s staff was instrumental to a highly-successful

gathering, and did not go unnoticed.

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGEcontinued from page 3

will take over that duty beginning with the January 2012issue.

I know it may seem like a long way off, but we are begin-ning to plan for the Scholarship tournament and auction,which will be in April again. Please start thinking now aboutwhat you might be able to contribute to the auction. We aregiving out a lot of scholarship dollars every year now and wemust continue to raise funds for this very worthy purpose!

Lastly, I hope everyone has Dec. 2 on their calendars for ourannual Christmas Party.

We'll be sending out digital invitations soon and there isalso a copy of it on the website (There will be no invitationcoming in the mail this year.).

Granger Smith will be entertaining us with their own brandof Texas country music. You can check out grangersmith.comfor a sample of their music.

I've seen these guys perform and they put on an outstand-ing show! Beer and margaritas will be provided as well assetups if you prefer to bring another type of libation. I lookforward to seeing you there!

— Wade Warms, CGCS

8

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History says it’s a fairly rareday when the South Texas GolfCourse Superintendents Associa-tion travels outside the metropoli-tan Houston area for one of its“Monthly Meetings,” and rarerstill when it does so more thanonce in a given year.

You can count 2011, then, assingular— when the Chaptergathers at Huntsville’s Raven NestGolf Club on Nov. 8 for its

Annual Meeting, it will have held three of its 2011 meetingsout in the country, and that might just be a first.

The site of the third of those gatherings is a first, to be sure.The STGCSA is making its first-ever trip to Raven Nest andwill be hosted by Golf Course Superintendent David Gray,who has worked in Huntsville throughout his professional life.

Gray’s family moved to Gonzales two years after he wasborn in Houston, and that’s where he was raised. He headed toBlinn College after graduating from Gonzales High School,finishing up his Associates Degree in 1998.

He then transferred to Sam Houston State University andwas head toward a geology degree when fate intervened. RavenNest was then under construction and the sights made Graycurious; he met then superintendent Jerry Huntsman, gainedan internship on Huntsman’s staff, changed his major to horti-culture and crop sciences, and was off and running.

He graduated from Sam Houston in 2002, having earned aBachelor of Science degree, and went to work as an assistantsuperintendent across Interstate 45 at Elkins Lake CountryClub. He stayed there for nearly five years before returning toRaven Nest and the golf course superintendent of the “homecourse” of the Sam Houston State University Bearkats.

Now 33 years old and a member of the STGCSA for thepast eight years, Gray is excited about the prospects of havinghis peers visit his facility. Of what they’ll find there in the wayof golf, he says, “The course has a lot of long carries. Youmight think it would be an easy course from looking at it, butit’s a grind . . . it’s tough.”

The course, he says, is fairly wide open. with “not thatmany trees” on rolling hills, adding that “staying in the fair-ways is key. The native grasses in the rough can be tough, butthey're thinner this year because of the drought, so that mighthelp a little.”

Sounds like just what the doctor ordered for a bunch offolks looking for a getaway, and who share at least one thing incommon with Gray.

“I just love getting to be outside,” says Gray of his attractionto the turf management profession.

It would be unusual to find someone in the business whodoesn't feel that way.

David Gray set to host Annual Meeting

Please . . .. . . keep your contact information up to date.If you have a new employer, phone number,

e-mail or physical address, please relay the details toMarian Takushi at stgcsa@windstream.net.

David Gray

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Golf Course/Grounds Superintendent NeededMorale, Welfare and Recreation Department

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Irrigation Technician NeededRice University

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Second Assistant Superintendent NeededCanongate at The Woodlands

Please send resume´ to:Allen Plagens, Superintendent

Canongate at The Woodlands — Panther Trail2205 N. Millbend Dr., The Woodlands, TX 77380

Fax: 281-681-9770 E-mail: aplagens@canongategolf.com

Assistant Superintendent Position AvailableThe Woodlands Country Club — Tournament Course

Please send resume´ to:chrishartman@canongategolf.com

or call 281-770-1326

Assistant in Training . . .Whispering Pines Golf Club

Please send resume´ to: Michael Dieckhoff, Golf Course Superintendent1532 Whispering Pines Dr., Trinity, TX 75862

E-Mail: Mdieckhoff@whisperingpinesgolfclub.com

Assistant Superintendent WantedCanongate at South Shore Harbour

Please send resume´ to David FranksE-Mail: dfranks@canongategolf.com

Assistant Superintendent NeededBeaumont Country Club

Please send resume´ to: Clint Evens5355 Pine St., Beaumont, TX 77703

E-Mail: clintevans40@yahoo.com

The STGCSA Bulletin Board is available for use by all STGCSA members. Call Steve Hunter (281-395-4927) before the 5th of each month to include your job listings,

etc., in the following two issues of Tee to Green. To include your job posting on the STGCSA web site, contact

Marian Takushi (stgcsa@windstream.net, 281-494-0094).Morecomplete details about many of the positions listed here can be

found within the “Jobs” pages of www.stgcsa.org.

9

The time is nowThe new year, believe it or not, is just around the cor-

ner. Accordingly, it’s time to renew your STGCSA mem-bership. Membership renewal forms are available on-line on the home page of www.stgcsa.org . . . you cancomplete the process online or print it out, complete it

and mail it to the Chapter office. Please call MarianTakushi at 281-494-0094 if you have questions.

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We are excited about this campaign and we hope we can getsupport from our membership throughout the state to helpmake this project a success. The money raised by the projectwill be used for research that will benefit every golf coursesuperintendent in the great state of Texas.

If you have questions about the “Raffle for Research,” pleasecontact one of your Lone Star Representatives, Doug Browne(979-885-4833), Terry Gill (713-778-3819), or me (281-373-4750).

- John Walker

RAFFLE FOR RESEARCHcontinued from page 6

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10

Christmas Parties Past

November 8Raven Nest Golf Club

2011 STGCSA Annual MeetingHost Superintendent: David Gray

December 2Christmas Party

Cole’s Country - CypressDecember 12-14

Texas Turfgrass AssociationAnnual Conference

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For additional details about each monthly meeting and golf outing,

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Always Fun!The 2011 STGCSA Christmas Party is coming, this time

around on Dec. 2, just eight days after Thanksgiving.This year’s party will be held in Cypress at Cole’s Country,

an expansive facility that's set up to host “Parties, Picnics Cor-porate Events, Receptions - Whatever your event might be.”The facility is located at 12702 Cypress Valley in Cypress.

Entertainment this time around will be an up-and-comingcountry-and-western recording artist with “seven top 10 sin-gles, three tours in Iraq and Kuwait to play for the AmericanSoldiers, and three shows at the White House.” You can readmore about Granger Smith on his web site (www.granger-smith.com).

The gathering will begin with a 6:30 p.m. reception. Dinnerwill be served beginning at 7 p.m. and the annual awards andscholarship presentations at 8 p.m.

The entertainment will last from approximately 8:30 to 10p.m. Beer and margaritas will be served with dinner, andyou're welcome to bring your own drinks if you'd like.

Dress is casual and the cost will be $85 per couple or$42.50 per individual. You can reserve your spot by callingMarian Takushi or sending her an e-mail by Nov. 30.

11